Kurama Meets the God of Death
by dk-joy
Summary: Duo meets Kurama in prison and they find they have something in common. Crossover with Yu Yu Hakusho set mostly in a Gundam Wing alternate universe. Ouchy kitsune, semiserious braided baka, shounen ai HxK, 1x2, 3x4
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Gundam Wing or Yu Yu Hakusho. I just wish I did.

Warnings: uh…injuries, braided bakas, cute kitsunes, AU (for Kurama)

Kurama Meets the God of Death 

The humans weren't exactly gentle with the youko, half dragging his battered body into the prison compound. One guard opened the cell door and the other shoved him in, the door clanging shut behind him. Kurama fell to his knees, clutched the open wound on his abdomen and sighing as he healed himself with his ki. He startled and stopped when someone spoke.

"What are you in for? Is having red hair illegal now?" said a voice from the darkness.

"Treason, I think" said the kitsune with a small smile. "What about you?"

"Me? I'm the God of Death. Of course they don't want me running loose. But what they want doesn't matter. I'll have us out of here in no time." With that said, a human boy about the same age as Kurama's human body stepped out into the shadows.

His wide blue-violet eyes were full of laughter and his chestnut hair fell in a long braid down his back. "I'm Duo, Duo Maxwell. The God of Death, at your service," he said with a smile and a bow. "May I ask the name of the man I'm about to save?"

The red-headed, green-eyed demon in human form argued with himself a minute before deciding to tell the truth. "My human name is Shuichi Minamino, but you may call me by my true name – Kurama. I am a fox demon. I was fighting off some other demons with my human friends when one of the demons hit me with some weird ki and I was transported here. It appears this is a different time and place from where I was."

"Uh! I knew I shouldn't have asked! Next time I feel like doing something stupid, I'll ask Heero to kill me and…" the boy continued mumbling under his breath. Kurama smiled upon catching the word "baka" used so liberally. It reminded Kurama of his best friend, Hiei. The kitsune sighed and began healing himself, the light of his ki causing Duo to look up in surprise.

"What are you doing? How are you making that light?"

Kurama explained and the boy listened, hanging on his every word. "Can you teach me that?" Duo asked hopefully, believing the wild, but true story. Kurama thought and then told him to wait a minute. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind. He scanned Duo and was surprised to find a human with so much fighting ki. And its configuration was as close to a youko's spirit energy as he'd ever seen a human's. Realizing the boy could help him and trusting him despite having just met him, he promised to teach Duo in exchange for help getting out of the prison.

"We'll have to come up with another way for me to pay you back because I've already promised you that I'd help you get out of here. Besides," he said after looking the fox demon up and down, "I bet you could get yourself out of here just as easily or even easier than I can." The two former thieves looked at each other and grinned, recognizing their kindred spirits. They were going to get out.

TBC...

Author's Note: Thanks to my boyfriend for not minding my obsession with Duo and Kurama and for proof-reading the written copies of my fics.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Gundam Wing or Yu Yu Hakusho. I just wish I did.

Warnings: uh…injuries, braided bakas, cute kitsunes, AU (for Kurama), language, shounen ai/yaoi (1x2, KxH)

_Italics are either scene changes or thoughts. It should be obvious, but tell me if it's not._

**Kurama Meets the God of Death 2** Back on Kurama's world/in his time… 

"What the fuck?! Where'd he go? Kurama!" Yusuke yelled.

"I don't know! There was that weird flash of light and then he was gone…" Kuwabara replied.

"Baka! He was obviously transported somewhere far away. I can't sense his ki anywhere. At least I hope he was just teleported and not…disintegrated. Not that I'm worried or anything…" Hiei said indifferently. (You're not fooling anyone, Hiei!)

"Sure, Hiei." Yusuke muttered. (See!)

Back at the Gundam boy's safe house… 

"Hn. That baka probably got captured again." Heero said in a flat tone.

"Well…shouldn't we go help him or something…that place is supposed to be next to impossible to escape…alive anyway." Quatre offered anxiously.

"Our best bet is to stay here and hope he can get out on his own. If not…" Trowa trailed off.

"If he's so weak that he can't escape alone, he deserves to die, right Heero?" Wufei added pompously.

Wham! "Sure, Wufei." Heero said after watching Wufei's unconscious body slide to the ground. But Heero still didn't make a move to help Duo.

You can do it…if anyone can, it's you Duo… Heero half-hoped and half-begged. Back with the bakas… 

"Geez! This is tougher than I thought! I knew it was supposed to be hard to escape from here, but come on! This is ridiculous!" Duo moaned. (After knocking out or killing another fifteen guards.)

"I agree…I didn't expect so much resistance from humans…I mean prison guards." Kurama responded, killing and incapacitating just as many as Duo.

"Hey! I know you're a demon! You don't need to pretend with me!" Duo shouted gleefully after blowing up a particularly irksome door.

"Perhaps you are right. Is this the exit?" Kurama asked politely.

"Why…yes, sir I do believe it is. After you, sir." Duo said, sweeping low into a mocking bow.

"Why thank you, my man." Kurama said, preceding Duo and matching his pompous tone.

"You sound just like Wufei!" Duo exclaimed as they ran through the forest outside of the base (still dodging gunfire!).

"Who is this Wufei you speak of?" Kurama asked with his previous aristocratic attitude.

"Why I do believe he is a friend of mine…or a guy that I fight with and pick on constantly…" Duo mused as they waited for a particularly persistent pursuer to pass them up.

"It's kind of funny…your attitude reminds me of my friend, Yusuke." Kurama said quietly.

"Who's that? Sounds Japanese…" Wham! "Got that one!"

Wham! "And this one! He is. He's got the same devil-may-care outlook that you have. The two of you would either love each other or hate each other because you are so similar."

"Then I bet we'd hate each other 'cause there's this other friend that I have named Heero that's nothing like me and we get along great." Duo responded.

"Is he Japanese?" Kurama asked, even though the answer was obvious.

"Of course, with a name like that! He's a real tough guy. Sometimes I think he's almost indestructible. He hasn't died yet and he's known me for a while now…"

"What do you mean?" Kurama asked curiously.

"Well…it seems like everyone I know dies. I'm glad Heero and Quatre and Trowa and Wufei haven't died on me. I was worried for a while…but they're tough. And so are you. Maybe you guys will break my curse!" Duo shouted as they finally got out of the forest and away from the soldiers in pursuit.

"Hm…I don't feel a curse on you…" Kurama said quietly after stopping and scanning the boy's body.

"Well of course you don't. It's not really a curse. It just seems like one to me. I'm an orphan. My first friend died of the plague. The priest and nun who took care of me were killed in the war…"

"I know how you feel in a way. I cannot stay attached to people in demon world because there is too much of a risk that they will turn on me and kill me. Or they will die a horrible, violent death like Kuronue. And if I fell in love with a human, they would die long before I did, so there is no point in forming attachments…"

"Which is why you are probably trying to hook up with a demon that lives in human world." Duo nodded sagely.

"What?! How did you…" Kurama spluttered.

"I didn't until just now – I was just testing the waters and you fell into it!" Duo crowed in triumph.

"Well…I'll admit that I like Hiei if you'll admit that you like Heero." Kurama said slyly.

"Hiei? Is that his name? Sounds Japanese also…hey! How did you figure out I like Heero?!"

"I didn't know 'til just now." Kurama smirked.

"Bastard!" Duo muttered.

TBC…

Author's Note: Please review and thank you very much for reading. Next chapter will involve them meeting up with the Gundam boys… (And probably a cute scene with Heero telling Duo why he didn't come help.) I'll probably also show Kurama's reaction to the gundams…


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Gundam Wing or Yu Yu Hakusho. I just wish I did.

Warnings: uh…injuries, braided bakas, cute kitsunes, AU (for Kurama) (and the Gundam boys too!), language, shounen ai/yaoi (1x2, KxH, 3x4, maybe 5x6…)

I've decided that this is AU for Gundam Wing as well. The Earth has been destroyed and everyone lives on colonies. The forest the bakas ran through was on a colony :sweats: The reason for this change (or clarification) will be made more understandable in this chapter (I hope…)

This chapter has a healthy (or unhealthy, depending on your point of view) dose of angst. Sorry for it, but this chapter and this fic will have a happy ending – just keep telling yourself that!

_Italics are either scene changes or thoughts. It should be obvious, but tell me if it's not._

Kurama Meets the God of Death 3

_On Kurama's world/in his time…_

"Hn. He's not dead. I can feel traces of him somewhere… I just can't pinpoint it. It's a place that doesn't have energy like the human, demon, spirit, or nether world. I don't understand it. It feels so…metallic. And far away." Hiei told his friends as he slowly turned in a circle, Jagan open, eyes closed, a look of deep concentration on his face.

"What? Like another planet or something?" Kuwabara asked stupidly.

"Ha! Right! Kurama was transported to a random planet. And he's still alive – everyone knows he can breathe sulfuric gases and everything. Get a grip Kuwabara…" Yusuke scoffed before being cut off mid-rant by Hiei.

"Actually, the idiot might not be far off. If it's another planet, it's an awfully small one, but it does feel like it's on a material plane. Kind of like human world, but different somehow…"

_Back at the Gundam Boy's safe house, several days after Duo and Kurama broke out…_

Heero doesn't talk. At all. He's even more silent than usual. He hasn't said a word since he decked Wufei. It's been three days…

The other Gundam pilots are getting worried. Not only is one of their friends missing in action (there's been no word of a breakout, no death announcements, no secret messages ensuring them of the braided boy's safety…), but another of their friends is taking it much harder than they would have expected. Wufei apologized a day ago for saying that Duo deserved to die if he couldn't break out (and that apology had cost him a lot), but Heero still hadn't said a word. He doesn't respond to any of the boys' words, jokes, or frustrated screams.

Heero barely eats, doesn't sleep, and constantly checks his email, hoping for some word about the status of his friend. He doesn't care what the news is – anything would be welcome. It's the fact that he _doesn't know_ that's killing him slowly.

The others are glad that there's been no missions for the last week. While there's a chance that a mission may distract Heero from his grief, there's an equal chance that it would just give him a chance to end it all. The thought of losing two capable pilots and friends in such a small period of time made them feel ill.

On the fourth day, they finally got word about a breakout from THAT prison. News traveled slowly these days, with all of the colonies seemingly against each other and no Earth to mediate. Most of the news was eventually proven to be false, meant to misdirect and manipulate the other colonies. Because of this, when the boys heard that two people had escaped from…that place… they weren't sure what to make of it. Maybe that prison's definition of escape was death.

It was this thought that sent Heero deeper into depression and led him to quietly circumvent his own security system to take Gundam Zero out for a solitary flight. He didn't know where he was going, just that he had to go somewhere. And he didn't want the other boys to know until the last possible minute…

Quatre and Trowa were laying on the couch, feet mingling briefly before one or the other would pull back, blushing slightly. Wufei was trying to read on a straight-backed chair nearby, but having trouble concentrating with the way the two would jump at any contact with the other. After a while, he sighed and said, "I know you two like each other, so stop trying to hide it from me and yourselves and just…argh! I don't know! Do something already!"

The two on the couch blushed and jumped guiltily before meeting each other's eyes and blushing even more. Wufei rolled his eyes and tried to read again. He had just started to get to the good part when Quatre jumped up and screamed, "Heero!"

Wufei and Trowa jumped up as well, used to Quatre's bursts of sudden empathic knowledge.

"What's wrong?" Wufei said anxiously. He still felt bad for what he had said about Maxwell and how it had hurt Yuy.

"He's gone! He left! But…he feels happy…" Quatre's brow furrowed as he frowned. "I don't understand…Duo?! No…yes…and someone else… I don't know." He looked up at the other boys. "Sorry – it's usually not this unclear. It's like there's something blocking it…"

"But…is he gone?" Trowa asked. "Did he leave? You seemed pretty sure about that. Should we go after him?"

"No. Let's leave him for now. I think everything's going to be okay." Quatre answered, his tone of voice more confident than he felt.

Heero had been flying his Gundam directly south when he saw something that made him say his first word in days. "Duo?" He whispered, blinking uncertainly at what seemed like a mirage to his tired eyes. There, just a few hundred yards away, was something that looked terrifyingly like Deathscythe. Terrifyingly because while it was shaped the right way, it was glowing an odd green color and it looked like it was only held together with luck and wishful-thinking.

It was drifting slowly in his direction, and Heero could do nothing for several minutes but watch it's agonizingly slow progress. After a while, he snapped out of it and flew swiftly toward his best friend's…umm…junk heap.

When he was close enough to reach out and touch the mangled machine, Deathscythe's cockpit popped up and someone in a space suit came out with someone else (also in a space suit) who was hanging limply from their arms. The person carrying the other person looked up at Zero, then nodded and pushed off against Deathscythe's frame, shooting toward Heero and his Gundam. As the figure got closer, Heero realized that the face in the suit wasn't Duo's as he'd hoped. Despite this, he opened his cockpit to let the other person in, still carrying the limp body. Heero had a sinking feeling that the hurt/unconscious/dead person must be Duo.

When the stranger finally reached Zero (time seemed to crawl while Heero tried to make out Duo's face), he gestured the man in. The man hesitated, studied his face, nodded, then reached in. Heero grabbed his hand, pulling him and the tightly-held burden inside quickly and shutting the cockpit.

He fumbled with his gloved and shaking hands, trying to get his helmet off in the tight space and gesturing for the other man to do the same. When both helmets were off, they looked at each other, one relaxing slightly while the other tensed.

Kurama recognized this boy from Duo's description – this had to be Heero. His deep blue eyes were dark and filled with pain and were much too old for his body. They reminded Kurama of his own eyes, and Duo's. His chocolate hair fell in his eyes, darkening the shadows under them. Relaxing with the knowledge that this was a friend, Kurama allowed the other man to scrutinize him in the same manner.

Heero, on the hand, tensed when he saw the deep red hair and inhumanly green eyes of the man in front of him. Those eyes… this man wouldn't be frightened by a mere glare. He reminded Heero of Duo, the way Duo laughed in the face of danger and provoked people even as they tortured him. In a way, it comforted Heero to see that Duo had a friend so like him – he could now see the person held tightly in the red-head's arms and knew with barely a glance that it really was Duo. He just didn't know if the boy was dead or alive.

Seeing the Gundam pilot's change of focus, Kurama took Duo's helmet off and showed the boy's friend that he was breathing. Heero relaxed a little more and reached for the other pilot. Kurama willingly handed the boy to his friend. Heero looked down at Duo's face and happily watched the slight facial twitches, heard the rasp of his breathing, felt his heart beat.

Kurama smiled, happy that the one the braided boy had chatted about so incessantly over the past few days seemed to care for him as well. He helped the other boy take the suit off of Duo so that they could inspect his injuries.

"I'm sorry I didn't heal him – it was all I could do to keep Deathscythe together and operational. I…" Kurama turned more and more pale as he talked, and finally stopped, putting his hand to his head and swaying slightly.

"Here! Sit and I'll call for help! Try to relax." Heero told the boy who looked close to passing out.

Kurama smiled gratefully and sank into the pilot's seat. He was asleep in seconds.

"What in the world happened to you, Duo? And who is this guy?" Heero asked his unconscious friend.

TBC…

Author's Note: Please review and thank you very much for reading. Sorry for the angst! Couldn't help it… I promise it'll get less serious again (if that made any sense…) I guess next chapter will involve the boys getting patched up, everyone meeting Kurama (and exchanging names…), and the story of just what happened to the bakas after they broke out of THAT place. Also some 1x2 cuteness and maybe some talk about Kurama's reactions to the Gundams and the story of why the Earth's gone and… I don't know…we'll see, shall we?

I was thinking about eventually crossing this over with Naruto as well. It would probably only have the Gundam boys and Kurama and Hiei there. Or I was thinking that Kurama would go back to his world and the Gundam boys would do some time travel. At the very least, Duo and Heero will go, but tell me if you think Kurama and Hiei should come along. The pairings would be (at least) 1x2 and Kakashi x Iruka (and maybe Sasuke x Naruto.) Please tell me if anyone's interested! I already have ideas for that part of the fic. Or will it be a separate fic… Argh! I don't know! Help me out, here!


	4. Chapter 4

Warnings and Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, Yu Yu Hakusho, or the hotties portrayed therein. Sigh

Shounen ai (1x2, 3x4, KxH), language, attitude, ouchiness, fluffiness, hot thieves, AU, OOCness…

Kurama Meets the God of Death 4

_In Kurama's World/In his time…_

"ARGH!!!! I don't know! Would you stop asking me! How the Hell do you expect ME to figure it out?" Koenma screamed, tired of Hiei's pestering.

"You're the ruler of Spirit World. Figure it out. You must know something about what I'm talking about. I can still feel Kurama's ki. He isn't dead. He's somewhere surrounded by a lot of metal, but he isn't on human world. He isn't in any of the other worlds either, but I know he's still here somewhere. NOW TELL ME!!!!!!" Hiei roared, placing the tip of his sword none-too-gently against Koenma's neck.

King Enma's son swallowed as gently as he could, trying to avoid getting his neck sliced open. He wasn't used to getting death threats from his spirit detectives, but this was a week of surprises.

"I … heard something recently that might be of interest to you," he said quietly. "It involves a demon who can see the future and another who can force others to travel through time. It seems that they're best buddies and have been trying to get rid of threats to themselves on human world. I think Kurama may have been just such a threat."

Hiei was so surprised at both the information and how quickly he got it that he dropped the point of his sword, allowing Koenma to sit more comfortably in his chair.

"Time travel…" Hiei breathed, amazed.

"Yes. And I also found out from the same source, the third demon in this little conspiracy, when and where Kurama was sent to. But …"

"But what?" Hiei asked menacingly, his sword raised again, ready to strike.

"From what I've heard ..." Koenma started again, looking upset.

"… what? Please… just tell me!" Hiei pleaded.

sigh "He was sent to a space colony where they house dangerous criminals. But it's not just any prison. No one has ever escaped. When they report that someone 'escaped', what they really mean is that they died or where killed. In addition, at this time, there is no more Earth; there are just hundreds of space colonies. They are all opposed to each other and are constantly at war. Even if he somehow managed to escape, he would have nowhere to go and no way to get there. There's no one to help him. He's all alone and we can't reach him. Just give up and realize …"

"You had me worried for a minute." Hiei said calmly, sheathing his sword.

"But …" Koenma started.

"Have you forgotten who we're talking about? This is Youko Kurama – the notorious thief! He'll escape all right. And I'll be there soon to bring him back to our world." Hiei stretched and yawned. "But first, tell me where those bastards are – me, Yusuke, and Kuwabara are going to go 'convince' them to send us to where Kurama is."

_Where the bakas are …_

Heero somehow managed to maneuver around the two unconscious bodies in his cockpit well enough to get them back to base. As soon as he touched down, he opened the hatch and was about to try to figure out how to get the other two down without aggravating their injuries when he heard Quatre yelling up to him.

"Trowa's bringing the crane around. We padded it with pillows and blankets and it should be big enough to fit both of them. Here it comes!"

Heero, who had gotten used to Quatre's little flashes of "insight," just nodded. When the 'bucket' of the crane reached him, he gently picked each of the boys up and placed them on the soft bed within. First, he cradled Duo closely and carefully arranged his limbs so that they wouldn't hang outside of the cage-like enclosure. Then he picked up the strange redhead who had accompanied Duo and had apparently saved his life. He wished he had thought to ask the boy his name.

When both boys were in the device, he motioned to Trowa, who nodded and slowly lowered the crane, carefully avoiding anything that could possibly jar or bump it. It wasn't an easy task, considering how packed the mobile suit bay was. When it was finally on the ground and Quatre was starting to open the door to get the boys out, Heero grabbed the drop cable and jumped to the ground, landing gently. He immediately let go of the cable and started walking toward Quatre.

When he got there, Quatre told him that Wufei had gone to pick up the remains of Deathscythe and would be back shortly. Heero nodded and bent to gather Duo into his arms. Quatre stepped back and let him, smiling when he realized what he should have realized before. Heero loved Duo.

Heero's face was transformed when he looked down at the braided boy. He wasn't a soldier; he wasn't a killer. He was just a boy who had someone to protect, someone that he cared about more than anyone or anything else. Quatre sighed in contentment.

Trowa spoke quietly from directly behind him, startling the poor boy. "Ack! What was that?"

Trowa smiled slightly. "I asked if it would be OK if I brought the redhead to the spare bedroom."

Quatre nodded and stepped back, letting the taller and stronger boy lift the stranger. He was about to follow when he heard the roar of Wufei's Gundam returning.

"I'll help Wufei bring in Deathscythe. Uh … what's left of it, anyway." He didn't look forward to telling Duo the condition his 'buddy' was in.

_Later …_

Heero was in Duo's room, sitting in a chair next to Duo's bed. He was asleep, but only lightly – at the slightest movement from Duo's direction, he would be awake and ready.

The other gundam pilots were in the guest bedroom, wondering about the redheaded stranger.

"I don't think he's dangerous; Heero wouldn't have brought him here if he was. In addition, he mentioned something about owing him. I don't think we need to watch him for security reasons, but he is rather ill. I don't know why – his injuries aren't very bad, considering. But he just seems weak. Like he … I don't know. Like he's really tired. I think he really just needs rest." Quatre didn't know what else to say, so he leaned back and looked at the others.

Trowa nodded. "I agree. We probably need someone to watch him and make sure he doesn't get any worse. I don't think he will, but someone should be here just in case."

"Yes. And it would be rather uncomfortable to wake up in a strange place without anyone there to inform you as to how you arrived. One of us should stay here at all times. But Heero will be staying by Maxwell's side until he wakes up. That leaves one of us to stay here and one of us to stay on watch for enemies. The third should get some sleep. We'll rotate shifts between the three of us until Duo wakes up. Then we'll speak with Heero and decide what needs to be done."

Quatre and Trowa nodded when Wufei finished speaking. It was agreed that Quatre would sleep, while Trowa would watch the redhead and Wufei would patrol.

A few hours later, the red head and Duo woke up within minutes of each other…

TBC …

Author's Note: Please review! I love you guys and sorry for taking so long to update! Law school is a &&$#&&(&$)&&!!!!!!!!!!! Ahem But I did pretty well my first semester, so I can't complain tooooo much.

I guess one of the things I'll have to do in the next chapter is explain how Hiei was still able to sense Kurama when they are in different times and places. I also need to explain what happened to Deathscythe, introduce Kurama to the other characters (Duo's the only one who knows his name), and get Hiei on his way to rescue our favorite redhead! Oh yeah … and maybe I should have a dramatic scene where they explain why the Earth no longer exists …


	5. Chapter 5

Warnings and Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, Yu Yu Hakusho, or the hotties portrayed therein. Sigh

Shounen ai (1x2, 3x4, KxH), language, attitude, ouchiness, fluffiness, hot thieves, AU, OOCness… some grossness to show how scared Hiei can make his enemies (see the second paragraph – I tried to put it gently! I don't normally put stuff like that into my fics, but I figured hey, why not?)

I'M BACK! Tee-hee … But probably not for long – another LONG semester of law school is coming up on Monday, so I decided to update my most popular fic while I still could! Hope y'all enjoy it!!!

Kurama Meets the God of Death 5

_In Kurama's (normal) world and time…_

Koenma had set up a "meet and greet" for the remaining spirit detectives (Hiei, Yusuke, and Kuwabara) to meet the leader of the three-demon conspiracy which had sent Kurama to an inescapable prison colony in the distant future. It wasn't going so well…

Sigh "Hiei, please stop poking him in the throat with your sword – it's making him nervous." The understatement of the year – the tall demon had ahem lost control of his bladder when Hiei had thundered in, sword out and his most fearsome glare going full-blast.

"I will release the scum when he tells me when and where I can find my… that is… Kurama." Hiei looked a little less fearsome as he blushed at his slight indiscretion.

"Yeah, we wouldn't mind having our genius back." Yusuke added, trying to cover for Hiei, since he kind of felt bad for the little fire demon. I mean, it was just ssssooooo obvious why Hiei was so upset that Kurama wasn't around. It was the only reason that Yusuke let Hiei take over and run the show. The boy had it bad for the fox. Not that Hiei would ever admit it and not that Yusuke would ever even joke with Hiei about it – he liked his head just where it was, thank you very much!

"Yeah… and stuff…" Yusuke rolled his eyes as his best friend Kuwabara put his two cents in. Maybe it was more like half a cent.

The tall demon on the floor in front of them in a puddle of his own… well as I was saying, the demon was nearly scared to death and his face was covered in sweat as his eyes darted back and forth between the spirit detectives. He was probably only capable of speech because Koenma had promised him that he wouldn't be killed (or tortured too much) if he cooperated.

"H-he…" He started, then gulped and squeaked in fright as Hiei turned his full attention to him.

"I-I…" He started again. Hiei just looked at him like he was the lowest scum on Earth and didn't make a move to attack him. Finally regaining his courage (um… kind of…), he continued to try to convey everything he knew about what had happened to the spirit detectives' friend. "Th-there's nothing I can do – they're the only ones who can get you there or get him back – I don't really have any powers – I just gave them the idea for it. I can't guarantee that they'll help you, even if you torture them – they really have it in for that fox demon."

"Why would they hate Kurama?" Hiei asked, as if the thought of the ex-thief, ex-murderer being hated by anyone was a surprise.

"I-I don't know… something to do with knowing him when he was younger… I really don't know – you'd have to ask them… but it must have been something awful for them to send him to that place."

"Do you know anything else about where he was sent – other than that it's hard to get out of?" Yusuke asked.

"'Hard to get out of'?" The tall demon scoffed. "You've gotta be kidding me – even the great Youko Kurama couldn't get out of there – that's why we sent him there, after all! Why would we send HIM somewhere that would just be 'hard' to get out of? We want him to die there. To rot in Hell."

Hiei growled and the demon scooted back, cowering. "At least, that's what they want – I just gave them the idea – I didn't really have anything to do with it and I don't hate that murdering, thieving..."

The demon stared, stunned to see a bleeding stump where his left hand used to be. Hiei was being restrained by Yusuke, Koenma, and Kuwabara. When he'd finally settled down some, he asked in a (somewhat) calm voice, "Where can I find these two bast-… I mean, gentlemen?"

"W-what are you going to do to them? If they know that I told you…" The demon sputtered.

"I don't think it's them that you have to worry about." Yusuke said, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

The demon whimpered in pain and fear, and finally told them. "Y-you know those w-warehouses downtown? Well…"

_In Duo's room…_

As soon as Duo stirred, Heero woke up and moved to his side. He didn't say anything – he just observed the braided pilot.

Duo woke up silently and didn't open his eyes or move until he was sure of where he was. He heard certain noises (the creak of the house settling, the air conditioning with its particular squeaks and rattles) which told him that he was in his room at the safe house. He shifted slightly and heard a rustle in the room. He stopped moving instinctively and listened. He could feel that someone was looking at him, so he opened his eyes cautiously and sighed in relief when he saw that it was Heero. Then his eyes widened and he sat up quickly.

"How did I get here? And where's Kurama?" He looked Heero up and down suspiciously. "You didn't kill him did you?"

Heero blinked at the quick barrage of questions, wondering where to start and whether he should ask his own questions first. He opened his mouth, then shut it again when Duo started talking again.

"Shit! That hurt! And by the way, I was joking – I figure he's under observation first until you can figure out what to do with him and whether he's on our side or not. He's on our side, by the way. But… how did I get here? Did one of you come to get me? No. Kurama helped me out and then…"

Heero finally got a chance to talk when Duo paused to think. "You came here in Deathscythe, although I'm not sure how – it is severely damaged. I assume this 'Kurama' person is the red-headed young man who was in Deathscythe with you, correct?" At Duo's nod, Heero continued. "He is alive and in the spare bedroom, as far as I know. You shouldn't move very much because you have some serious injuries – broken ribs and possibly some internal bleeding. You were unconscious when you came back and I was unable to wake you – I can only assume that you had a concussion, so I will not allow you to go back to sleep until you have been thoroughly examined."

Duo opened his mouth wide at the flood of words from the normally terse pilot. "Wow! You probably didn't talk the whole time I was gone to have that many words saved up!"

Heero stared at him in surprise. "How did you…"

Duo giggled. "Dude, I was just joking. Didn't really think… well. Heh." Duo looked a little uncomfortable for a second. "Why didn't you…"

"I was worried." Heero said, back to being as concise as possible. It was the words that surprised the braided pilot into silence.

Trying to lighten up the situation, Duo said, "well, buddy, if you were that worried, you should have come to get me so that you could shoot me or someth… hey. What's wrong?"

Heero had bowed his head (hiding his eyes under chocolate bangs), grabbed Duo's hand and put it to his forehead. Then he slowly brought the braided boy's hand to his cheek and pressed it there for a minute. "Hey man, what…" Duo stopped when he thought he felt moisture on his hand. Surely the Perfect Soldier wasn't… no… he didn't cry. Just when Duo was thinking his life couldn't get any weirder, Heero peeked up at him through his bangs, brought his hand to his lips and kissed the back of his knuckles tenderly.

Duo's jaw dropped. If that wasn't the sweetest thing anyone had ever done to him, he didn't know what was. He was stunned into silence. Again.

"I was worried." Heero repeated, voice quavering slightly with emotion. "I didn't come to get you because I thought that if anyone could get out, it was you. I didn't think… I wanted to… I…" Heero's lower lip quivered and Duo rushed to reassure him.

"Hey, there's no way I wanted you to come and get me – me and thief-boy barely made it out! I couldn't stand the thought of you… I mean… argh!" Duo took a deep breath and started again. "Heero… I… there's something I should tell you…"

Just then, as if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

_A few minutes ago, in the guestroom…_

Trowa was sitting in a chair near the bed where the red-headed boy was sleeping. His legs were stretched out in front of him and his arms were crossed over his chest. He was staring at the floor (probably thinking deep thoughts) when he heard a slight movement from the bed. He glanced up and froze when he saw the red-head looking at him from the bed.

The red-head's eyes were a shocking green color: they looked unnatural. Trowa wanted to dismiss them as interesting contacts, but that explanation didn't seem to satisfy him for some reason. He just stared at the new-comer, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights, when he realized that the boy had the same expression and was probably extremely disoriented and confused about where he was.

"Um…" Trowa started to talk, but couldn't think of what to say first. He continued to stare at the boy for a second, then mentally rolled his eyes at himself. Start with the basics. "My name is Trowa. Trowa Barton. I am… a friend of Duo's. This is our safe-house – no harm will come to you here." He spoke calmly, like he was talking to a wild animal that might attack at any time.

"Duo…" the red-head said. "Ah. Now I remember. Sorry – I slept so long it seems and had such odd dreams that I wasn't sure what was real and what was just a dream." His eyes seemed to calm down as he talked and he was smiling slightly by the time he was done speaking. "Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Kurama. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Barton."

"Just Trowa is fine, Kurama." Trowa replied in the same calm voice from before.

"I apologize for my rude staring earlier – as I said, I was not sure whether I was awake or dreaming." Kurama's manner of speech reminded Trowa of Quatre, which made the tall boy smile.

"It's no problem, I assure you." He said, mimicking the boy's speech patterns. He'd always found that things like that put people at ease and he was glad to see the boy relax further at his words. "Are you feeling all right? You don't have any visible wounds, but you seemed exhausted. I can only assume that you and Duo went through quite an ordeal. Did you meet him at that prison colony?"

"Yes, actually. I'm glad they threw us into the same cell – I'm not sure either of us would have gotten out without the other's help. I really don't think they wanted us to leave."

Trowa chuckled at the understatement. "I don't suppose they did. Would you mind if I stepped out for a few minutes to consult with my friends? We need to figure out what to do with you."

Kurama's gaze sharpened when he heard the last sentence. Trowa noticed it and quickly reassured him, "I didn't mean anything like that – it's just that we're in the middle of a war and no where is really safe…"

"Was it true what Duo told me earlier? Is the Earth really… gone?"

"…" Trowa stared at him blankly, wondering where the boy had been that he didn't know about it. "…yes."

"Ah. I see." The boy looked down and seemed to think for a while.

"Yes, well… I'm going to talk to my friends, all right? Do you need anything?"

"No. No, I'll be all right. I just need to think for a minute or two." Kurama replied kindly.

"Then I'll be back in a few minutes." Trowa started to leave, then turned again, "if either a Chinese boy or a blond-headed boy come in, don't worry – they are also friends."

Kurama nodded in understanding and watched Trowa leave the room. He looked down at the blanket covering him and whispered sadly, "If the Earth is gone, then… Hiei…"

TBC…

Author's Note: I know there are probably errors in this story (as usual), but don't suggest that I spell-check – it automatically does, and as long as the word exists, it ignores it – so I could write a long sentence that makes no sense whatsoever, but as long as I use real words and there is a subject and a predicate, spell-check and the grammar thing won't say a thing!!! Sorry for the rant!

I'm planning on having Hiei go into the GW universe, while Yusuke and Kuwabara stay behind to make sure that the other demons bring H and K back. What do y'all think?

Sorry it's been SSSOOOOO long since I updated – I really have been busy – Spring semester sucked (my GPA went down ). But it went back up during my Summer semester . BUT because I had summer school, there was very little time to write – sorry!!! I'm surprised I got a chance to write anything today – my fiancé happened to have to go to work and I'm stuck at home doing laundry and stuff around the house, BUT I figured I could ahem take time off to write another chapter! I might have been able to write yesterday, but I drove to my parents' house to see my half-brother for the first time in 12 or so years!!! I also got to meet his wife and two sons (I'm an aunt now! happy sniff). Hope y'all enjoy and I'm sorry that I haven't been reviewing other people's fics recently – as I said, I've been REALLY busy.


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